#and even said it out loud to my nurse friend who was understandably like ali what the FUCK

[violasmirabiles]

me: yeah no the stuff i watch never really affects my dreams

also me: has a dream two nights in a row where mark fucking hoffman shoots me in the throat after a Very Long chase around a dream town that was basically the town i live in except it was now by the sea and there was a huge skyscraper type of building that was a??? i think a research facility of some kind??? a lot of government officials too?? military people?? idk i hid in there for a bit which was a mistake cos it was a dream and there was a huge elevator that started defying all sorts of laws of reality and physics. and i was so fucking tired!! no reason for that bitchass cop to chase me anyway, id done nothing (except i think i had in fact done... something... to make him That murderous... but ive no idea What exactly) anyway at one point i just sorta had a breather in some dark alley and went Fuck, i dont even wanna live, why am i doing this to myself, this isnt fun, thisd be the easiest fucking way to go if i let it. i think i was scared hed do something to the people i love. and also i wasnt, like, 100% sure he wouldnt do it slowly and slow wasnt the way i wanted to go. anyway i eventually made it to a rather public place - at a crossroads (fucking crossroads fuck) right by the university campus. the smug bastard had a car - nothing too obvious about it and idk if id even seen it before but it was big and black and sleek and the second i saw it i just kinda nodded to myself like Him. Ah There He Is. That Motherfucker. What A Tool. and lo and behold it was him speeding in that fucking car. tried to shoot me but fucking missed and turned a corner as i was literally yelling for him to do better, i know you wanna, try again come on bitch just do it - and a friend of mine heard me and i saw her approach from the uni campus and i yelled at her to get back, this isnt about you, you dont have to see this - just as hoffman had made it around the block (dont know why he drove all the way there and back, this was a dream). i just kinda stood there looking at him and went cmon, do it, and for a second the bitch hesitated cos ig he thought id put up a bigger fight after the whole chase thing, but it was only a second. he had that smug grin of his that makes me want to punch it right out of his face. and this time he didnt miss, shot me right in the neck. looked me in the eye as he did it and then sped away. the friend of mine whod seen me earlier came running - shes a nurse irl and was wearing her nurses uniform here - and, cos it was a dream, she didnt really do anything practical to help or call an ambulance, and i didnt die either, was just bleeding all over the place and was kinda out of it. i could stand and walk all right and the nurse friend just started walking me away. walked way further than shouldve been possible, i think she was taking me somewhere (another friends place maybe) to be taken care of and to rest. i think i blacked out at some point cos it just faded into nothing and when i came to i was still dreaming but i wasnt even sure in the dream whether or not the hoffman thing had really happened. i was in an apartment with a bunch of my friends & kept touching the side of my neck where hed shot me and there was a scar but it was all healed and no one brought it up. the rest of the dream was just regular dream weird. robbed a clothes store and wore a binder throughout. have never worn one before and in the dream i remember being like Oh Okay so this is what we do now O. K.!! all right! and my friends were like yeah yeah it is shut up this isnt the time to talk about it... kept looking for a mirror too but never found one

[justice4harwin]

All Too Well- part 2

Summary: Johnny Lawrence was a troubled kid, then a troubled teen, and although he hid this from most, there were a few people he allowed to truly know them.

Series of one-shots telling his story with one of those people. 

Part 1

Part 2: Johnny and Noelia’s first meeting.

Late August, 1982

Noe held the toy gun with a firm grip and closed an eye as she pointed at her target. Around her, the loud voices of games and people having a good time seemed to fade away as she forced herself to focus on the game at hand. This was only a little bit better than just awkwardly wandering around on her own.

Firing in quick succession, she almost didn’t miss and smiled to herself, lowering the toy as the screen switched onto the next level. She noticed a girl standing nearby.

“Oh, sorry. Were you waiting to…?” she left the rest of the sentence hanging in the air and pointed at the screen.

The girl, who had been staring, shook her head, her pretty blond curls bouncing about.

“No! It’s fine, really. You were here first. I was just watching while I waited for my friends.” she took a tentative step forward, so they wouldn’t have to talk so loudly. “You’re really good.”

“Thanks.”She stepped aside and motioned for the girl to stand in her place. “You wanna keep going? I was getting bored anyway.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, shortening the distance further.

Noe smiled, handing her the gun. Her dad had talked her into going to that place to meet some people before classes started in september. This seemed like the perfect chance.

“I’m Ali.” the blond smiled in return, turning her eyes to the screen and shooting. She missed almost half of the targets.

“Noelia.”

“You new here?”

Noe nodded, but Ali probably couldn’t see it.

“Yeah. My family moved here from Winsconsin a few weeks ago.”

“Cool!” she gave her a swift look. “Must be a big change.”

“Yeah, but I think so far I like it.”

Ali kept on missing despite Noe’s gentle advice, and soon the game was over.

“Sorry I ruined it.” she said with a grimace, putting the gun down and moving aside to allow two boys no older than twelve to take her place.

Noe waved a hand.

“It’s just a game.”

“They’re right there! It’s not like real hunting, you know? They’re just a few feet away.”

The other girl shrugged, placing a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Maybe it’s the bright colors? I find them pretty distracting.”

Ali gave the screen a pitiful look.

“Yeah, maybe.”

“Ali!” 

Both looked in the direction of the voice, finding a tall brunette waving next to a redhead. Ali turned to Noe.

“Hey, wanna join me and my friends? We were about to have a snack.”

“Are you sure they won’t mind?” It sounded good. Really good. Almost two weeks had passed since the move, and each day, Noe found herself lonelier than the last. Her parents had quickly settled into their new routines at their respectives jobs, and her little brother spent most of the day playing with the other kids from the complex. Noe had had so much free time in her hands that she had unpacked most of their stuff all on her own and even managed to fix a shelf in the kitchen without help.

“Yeah, c’mon! It’ll be fun!”

“Ok, but I’m getting some fries first.”

Ali motioned to her friends and guided Noe to the food stand, where she also ordered a slurpee. 

“So, which school are you going to?”

“West Valley. Sophomore year.”

Ali’s eyes widened.

“Me too! That’s so cool! Maybe we’ll share some classes.”

Great relief washed over Noe as she heard this. This girl seemed nice, plus It’d be great to know at least one person on her first day.

Hearing some commotion coming from the table Ali’s friends had sat at, both girls turned to look. The blonde groaned.

“Great.” her voice dripped sarcasm.

Noe looked on with curiosity as the table filled with a bunch of loud boys. 

“Friends of yours?”

“Friends of my friends, unfortunately.” the blue eyed girl answered.

One of the boys leaned closer to Ali’s friend and said something, to which the girl pointed in their direction and his head snapped up, zeroing in on them.

Caught, Noe hurried to look away and thanked the employee as he handed her the drink. Next to her, Ali’s mood had visibly damped. Of course, Noe wanted to ask, but she wasn’t too sure if it was the right moment for that. They had just met after all. Who knew the history there.

“Oh, great, now he’s coming over. Quick, pretend you’re with me.”

“I am with you.” Noe smiled, subtly raising her eyes to see the guy from before approaching. 

He was quite tall and seemed well built, his blond hair fell over his forehead, but they didn’t hide his blue eyes. Noe felt the straw falling back into the cup. He had to be pretty terrible, because otherwise she wouldn’t understand why Ali seemed to hate him so. He shouldn’t have a right to look so good.

He looked at her as he approached and crocked his head to the side, smirking. She looked away, embarrassed for getting caught.

Luckily, he walked past them, but she could feel his eyes on her, almost burning her. It was something she thought happened in her mom’s novels only.

Her new friend suddenly looked at her, seeming like she was trying to make a choice.

Noe was about to ask her when something collided with her back, sending her forward. Ali caught her by the arms, and Noe gasped as the icy contents of the cup spilled over her shirt, its cold contents against her hot skin causing a small shock.

“Seriously, Johnny?!”

“What?! It was an accident!” 

Ali looked as convinced of that as of the existence of Santa.

“Right. Just like you.”

Noe put the cup on the counter and looked down.

“Crap.” she muttered.

Ali was pushed back as another figure imposed itself into her line of vision.

“Hey, you okay there?” she looked up to find the blond guy again. His expression shone with excitement, which she found suspicious. “It really was an accident.”

“Yeah, don’t worry.” she waved him away, looking down again at her shirt. 

“Here, let me buy you another.” he offered quickly.

The blonde girl jumped back in and pushed the guy, Johnny, away with a hip thrust.

“You do that, jerk.”

“It was an accident!” he defended again, raising both hands.

She ignored him.

“C’mon. I’ll help you clean up.”

Noe let Ali take her hand and guide her to the bathroom without a word.

Looking back, she caught Johnny grinning from ear to ear at their retreating forms. He winked and she rolled her eyes half-heartedly.

Boys.

Johnny PoV

"Play nice." He had muttered to his boys under his breath and through clenched teeth as Ali Mills and her cute, new friend approached the group.

He stood up from his place at the edge of the table, his eyes never straying from the girl.

She was pretty. Petite, olive skin, rosy cheeks and eyes so dark they were almost black, except for those bright green flecks. Her curls hung loose down to her shoulders, which were exposed.

Maybe he could take a break from his attempts at wooing Ali, it wasn't really working anyways.

Ali stopped in front of them, but only addressed her friends.

"Girls, this is Noelia. Noelia, meet Barbara and Susan."

They both smiled and greeted the new girl, which she returned warmly as her eyes drifted to him and his friends.

Johnny took his chance, striding towards her. 

"Hey, I'm Johnny." He shook her hand, gazing into her eyes. He felt a rush, but quickly shook it off. "These are Jimmy, Bobby, Dutch and Tommy."

"Hi everyone." Her voice was soft, but easily heard, even with the commotion around them.  

"Look," he pulled her out of Ali's grip fairly easily and to the place he had saved for her next to Bobby. "I got your order for you, and another drink."

She smiled at him, like he was some sort of angel or something.

"That's very kind but you didn't have to."she reached for her pocket. "Please let me repay you for the drink."

"No, no I can't." He raised his hands, taking a step back. Jimmy and Dutch were laughing silently behind Noelia while Ali glared at them, arms crossed and looking like she had sucked on a lemon. She was the only one of the female group who seemed to see through their bullshit. "I spilled the drink on you-"

"It was an accident."she interrupted.

"And ruined your clothes-"

"On accident."

"It's just a drink, Noelia." He liked saying her name.

She stared at him for a few seconds, and Johnny felt like a small kid when they got praise. That unadulterated rush of pride and self-worth that boosted anyone's ego ran through him after so long as she finally nodded.

"Okay. Thanks." She sat at the table, and he was quick to follow up and take the space to her left. 

Ali sat on the opposite side next to Barb and gave him a warning glance.

Don't mess her up or else...

He chuckled internally and turned to listen as Noelia answered Susan's question.

She opened up slowly but steadily, and seemed to be hitting it off quite well.

"So, your parents moved here for work?" It was Bobby who asked, playing around with his straw. "What do they do?"

She swallowed her fry before replying:

"Mom's a dentist and dad's a surgical nurse."

Johnny snickered as Dutch, Tommy and Jimmy laughed. The girls and Bobby rolled their eyes.

"Your dad's a nurse?!" Dutch asked, almost in tears.

It was funny, but not that funny. Then again, Dutch could laugh at almost anything when he was as high as he was at the moment.

Noelia crossed her arms over her chest, her face going from angelic to malevolent as she glared at him.

"Yeah. Got a problem?"

Dutch ceased his laughter long enough to give her an obvious look as he gestured with his hands, like that would help get his point across.

"C'mon. That's a woman's job."

"So is being a hairdresser, which explains how you're so good at bleaching your hair." Ali spoke up without so much as a glance, finding her drink more interesting.

Johnny and the others outright laughed at this, including the girls. Noelia looked down as her shoulders shook, and then sent Ali a grateful look.

Johnny watched her for a moment and then at Dutch, his demeanor turning cold as he shook his head once in warning.

You're gonna ruin my chances.

Susan got up.

“I’m bored. I’ll go find a game.”

The other two got up, and after a discreet nod from the leader, so did the cobras. Ali turned back to Noe.

“Wanna come?”

The new girl checked her wrist watch and grimaced.

“I don’t think so. My dad’s picking me up soon.”

The blond’s face fell slightly.

“Oh, well, okay.” she perked up immediately after. “We’re throwing a party at the beach on saturday, to celebrate the end of the summer. You should come.”

“I think I can do that. Or I’ll see you at school.”

Ali nodded, and with quick words, they were all gone.

The girl turned and jumped, placing a hand to her chest. Johnny noticed her nails were painted black and slightly chipped.

“Sorry, I thought everyone left.”

He placed his elbow on the table and leaned against it.

“Thought I’d keep you company.” he smiled charmingly. It was the smile he used to suck up to the other parents in Encino.

“Are you sure you don’t wanna go with your friends? I won’t wait long or anything.”

Discreetly, he scooted closer to her. He mustn’t have done such a good job, since she narrowed her eyes at him.

“I’m perfect here, hot stuff.”

She snorted softly, and the blush that rose to her cheeks wasn’t as deep as he was used to getting from other girls.

“Do you come here often?” she asked him suddenly, turning all her attention to him. He was slightly caught off guard. After a moment, Johny started talking, and she listened. 

She asked. He answered.

She asked. He answered. She listened.

She turned on the bench to face him, one leg on each side of the metal seat as he spoke of some of his favourite spots around the place.

He found it strange, but she truly seemed to be paying attention to what he said. She didn’t seem bored as he spoke, nodding along and making comments or side questions here and there, her rapt eyes on him, like being worthy of such magnitude of attention made sense. Like it was no effort to her. 

He stared at her here and there. From the posture, to the way her long, flowy skirt framed her legs, to the hands which now laid on the bench right in front of her. Goosebumps seemed to be raising in her arms, so he did something odd, and instead of being cheeky and telling her to scoot over to him, he took off his red jacket and handed it to her.

Her hair flew with the breeze too, some of it getting to her face. She’d catch locks with those slender fingers and push them away to no avail, but it didn’t seem to annoy her in the least.

Eventually, the disconcert settled, then faded and he recovered his balls, finally asking about her too. It seemed only fair, and part of him was genuinely curious.

“So, you’ve been living here for long?”

“No, we just moved in some weeks ago.”

“And wha-”

“Noe!” a honk followed the yell, and she looked to her left as he looked to his right and caught a glimpse of a man waving from the inside of a car.

“That’s my dad. I gotta go.” she stood up and took off the jacket, handing it back to him. Up on her feet, the multicolored lights seemed to caress her, creating a kaleidoscopic halo around her silhouette. She grabbed her empty cup, cardboard plate and looked at him like they were old friends already. “Do you go to West Valley too?”

He nodded and she smiled brightly, like the news was delightful to her.

“That’s great! I’ll see you around, Johnny.”

Was that the first time she said his name out loud? It sounded nice.

“Yeah. See you.”

She departed then, walking with a sprint, stopping once to throw her trash in a can, then a second time before entering the car to turn and wave at him, and got in. He blinked, a group of nerds got in the way, and when they moved the car was long gone.

Some snickers bought him back to earth.

“What happened there, Johnny?” Dutch and Jimmy approached him, evil glints in their eyes. “Was it love at first sight? Are you gonna burst into song now?”

Johnny rolled his eyes and swiftly swept Dutch’s leg. He almost fell on his ass.

“Nah, man.” he shrugged. “She’s hot. I may ask her out once or twice, you know; get some experience before I ask Ali again.”

Jimmy nodded, like it made as much sense as their theory about the pyramids.

“She’s a Reseda girl, after all.”

“Mm.” He stood up from the bench and stretched before putting on his jacket again.

As he followed his friends back in, cracking jokes and laughing, he felt a peculiar scent.

He wasn’t sure what it was, but it reminded him of a bakery early in the morning, when everything is just out of the oven. It was nice.

His group got together again and he quickly jumped in, making sure to be the center of attention.

[haymaker-mva]

Chloé Bourgeois: HBIC

(Check it out on Ao3!)

Now, Chloé Bourgeois may be a “Queen Bitch”, but these students were her subjects. And Lila was on her turf, dammit.

----

Now, Chloe knew that she was a bit of a bitch, excuse her french. She had at least some self awareness. She had bullied Marinette for years, she was a jerk to about anyone possible, and tended to get in Adrien’s personal space. That last one… Chloe had recently realized a few things about Adrien. #1: He was interested in some mystery girl, and seemed to have something happening with Kagami. And #2: Chloe had never really liked him in the first place. Yeah, she had pulled out all the stops to be near him, but now that she thought about it, it felt more like her protecting him then her just wanting to be a thing with him. 

Chloe also realized that she had been a hair short of a villain after being deakumatized from being Queen Wasp.

She had spent a ton of time rethinking her actions and decisions and decided to try and change for the better. Chloe knew that if she went all-in immediately, she’d probably mess up, and no one would trust her suddenly being nice. So instead, she subtly changed. She stopped ordering Sabrina and started requesting. She went from picking on everyone to ignoring them most of the time, but of course adding in a sarcastic comment from time to time.

But then Lila arrived.

Chloe knew Lila was full of bs from the start. Ladybug? Being best friends with a civilian? Yeah. Sure. Chloe knew that she had claimed the same thing, but she knew now that she just wanted to feel closer to her idol, and everyone else knew that too. But because of the whole Queen Bee tobacle, Chloe knew that Ladybug would not risk such a thing. So this Rossi girl was lying.

And while Chloe was still trying to get better.... This was her turf. She was in charge. The class would figure out Lila’s damage in a week, tops. But still, Chloe had overestimated her idiotic classmates.

Seriously. Marinette. Their Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She would hate a girl for no reason? Adrien might’ve been a good explanation… except for the fact that Marinette’s jealousy spouts lasted about an hour, but then she would always be out of spite. So something was going on here. Another inconsistency.

Since Chloe knew the truth, she could see Lila’s predatory smirk, disguised as a sweet smile and Lila’s disgust at anything from the Dupain-Cheng bakery. Now, Chloe hated Dupain-Cheng. But the bakery was the fucking bomb. Not that Choe would ever admit it.

The last nail in the coffin was when Chloe saw Marinette run to the bathroom, probably to cry. Chloe sighed and got up. Dupain-Cheng may be Chloe’s rival, but the enemy of my enemy is my friend, or something , Chloe thought.

Anyway, she was just getting up when Lila mentioned something about going to the nurse and went after Marinette instead. Chloe made sure to sneak ahead of Lila, and even Marinette. Chloe made a guess of where the two were heading, and hid in a bathroom stall.

She had just gotten her phone out and pressed record when Marinette walked into the room. The sounds of muffled crying started, and then Lila chose that moment to walk in.

“Marinette? Oh, are you crying?” Lila asked with faux concern.

“No I’m not!”

“I can sense that you don't like me, but I don't understand why. We barely know each other.” Lila wondered with that obnoxiously fake voice of hers.

“Don't tell me it's because of this new seating arrangement in class!” Chloe heard a very quiet rustle. “It is! Of course, you're jealous because I'm sitting next to Adrien, because you would've given anything to sit there yourself. You know what? It's really not worth fighting over a boy. You and I could be friends, and who knows, I might even be able to help you with Adrien.”

“You and I will only be friends the day you stop lying, Lila!” Lila gasped, and Chloe silently applauded Marinette on the comeback. “I can't prove it, but I know for a fact that you don't have tinnitus, that your wrist is just fine, that you don't know Prince Ali because you've never even stepped foot in Achu, and despite what you got Alya to write on her Ladyblog, Ladybug has never saved your life!” Chloe was a bit iffy on that last one. Ladybug didn’t know Lila personally for sure, but Ladybug may have saved her once. Chloe waved the thought away. It didn’t matter right then.

“I only tell people what they want to hear.” Lila said, facade dropping at Marin-- Dupain-Cheng’s bold declaration.

“It's called lying!”

“There's nothing you can do about it, anyway. People can't resist when they hear what they like to hear. If you don't want to be my friend, fine! But soon you won't have any friends left at all. And trust me, I'll make sure you never get close to Adrien in class or anywhere. You seem a little less dumb than the others, so I'll give you one last chance. You are either with me or against me. You don't have to answer right away. I'll give you 'till the end of class today.” A door opened and shut, and Chloe knew that the liar had left.

There were noises that Chloe recognized as Marinette stepping into a stall herself. Chloe stopped recording, but started another one when she heard Marinette start talking again.

“I thought Chloé was evil,” Wow, rude. Valid, but rude. “but Lila really takes the whole cake! She's like a supervillain who doesn't even need a costume!” Chloe wondered who the noirette was talking to, but her question was answered when someone responded to Marinette’s words.

“You mustn't let her get to you, Marinette.” The strangely high-pitched voice consoled the girl.

“If I don't manage to expose her lies, she'll ruin my life, Tikki. She'll turn my friends against me, including Adrien!” The normally kind and gentle girl let out a scream of frustration, and Chlow heard a loud noise, and deducted that Marinette had punched the inside of a stall. The blonde stopped her second recording and deleted it. None of the words spoken in it were important. The first one on the other hand…

Chloe noiselessly sighed. She really was gonna have to step down from her throne for a bit to deal with this lowly liar.

Now, Chloe may be a “Queen Bitch,” but these students were her subjects.

-

“Rossi.”

“What do you need, Chloe?” Lila asked, batting her eyes.

“I’d like to talk.” Chloe threw a glance at Alya. “Alone.”

Alya was about to get on Chloe’s case, probably about to spout something about intentions or whatever, but Lila reassured her. “I’ll be fine. If I need help, I’ll just yell.”

“Good.” Chloe walked into the bathrooms that she heard Dupain-Cheng being threatened in. Gotta get that aesthetic.

“So, let’s cut the crap.” Chloe stated, turning toward the italian. Chloe started recording on her phone that was hidden behind her back.

“I know you’re a liar, Lie-la.”

“What are you talking about?” Lila asked innocently. “Oh! Did Marinette tell you that? She’s just jealous of me having to sit next to Adrien is all--”

“Yeah, yeah, sure whatever. I don’t believe you.” Chloe cut her off. “I know you’re lying, drop the act."

After Chloe’s admission, Lila did in fact drop her act. The silver-tongued girl’s entire stance changed.

“I’m just going to tell you the same thing I did to that goody-goody-faker. You are either with me or against me.”

“Yeah, again for sure. I may be a bitch and a bully, but I pay my dues without the comfort of any hidden shadows. I’m no underhanded dunce.” Chloe rolled her eyes.

“Well fine, I’ll destroy your reputation too. I’ll take all your friends-”

“Yeah, you can’t use the same threat you used on Marinette. I only have Sabrina, and she already knows you're lying too.” Chloe interrupted her.

“You’ll see what I can do, bitch.” Lila growled and sashayed out of the room.

Chloe snickered. Lila had forgotten that she could’ve framed Chloe for something right there by just sitting on the ground and screaming.

Anyway, Chloe stopped her second recording and giggled. Time to take down a lying bitch.

-

A few minutes later, when she was going over her plans with Sabrina, Sabrina went silent for a second.

“I have an idea.”

-

Now, the old Chloe would've been offended that Sabrina dared to question her plans, even if mentioning an idea was hardly shooting down another. But I did tell you that Chloe was trying to get better, didn’t I? So the heiress listened to Sabrina’s idea, who beamed at being listened to.

-

“Do you believe Lila or Marinette?” Sabrina asked.

-

“I love Marinette, but I believe in Lila. Marinette can get nasty when she’s jealous; I see that first-hand a lot.” Alya responded, certain.

“I’ve known Nette’ for years, dude. I don’t think she would stay angry at Lila, even if she was jealous. I mean, she and Kagami go out for orange juice once a week.” Nino voiced his thoughts.

“Marinette? She’s awesome! Lila is too though. I’ve known Mari for years, but you never really know a person, you know?” Kim said, already bored from sitting still for that small amount of time.

“I sincerely doubt that Marinette is lying. I believe with almost 100% certainty that Marinette would not do such a thing. I do not know Lila enough to judge her yet. The napkin could have just been an accident on both sides.” Max theorized, pushing his glasses up his nose.

“Well, Marinette can get jealous and do some petty things, but I don’t really believe that. She did help me and Marc after all.” Nathaniel said, smiling at the memory.

“Lila is really nice! Marinette is really nice too! I like them both. Marinette can get a bit jealous though. I’m sure she’ll get over it!” Rose gushed.

“I’m not sure… I’d want to talk to Rose and Luka about it first…” Juleka mumbled.

“I don’t really have an opinion, but I’ll bet my skates that Marinette doesn’t mean any harm. She is probably jealous though.” Alix shrugged.

“Well, I like both Lila and Marinette. Lila just needs a bit more help, with her injuries and all.” Mylene said thoughtfully.

“I don’t know. I’ll just agree with whatever Mylene said.” Ivan replied shortly.

-

Last one was Adrien.

Chloe was about to try and talk to him, but he was already talking to Dupain-Cheng. Chloe pressed record, just in case, and eavesdropped.

“Are you going to tell everyone?” Adrien was asking the noirette.

“'Course I am. Lila is--”

“A liar. Yes, I know.” Adrien responded, cutting her off. “But do you really think exposing her will make things better? If you humiliate her, she'll just be hurt more. Making a bad guy suffer has never turned them into a good guy.”

“So we just stand by and let her lie?” Marinette replied, unsure.

“As long as you and I both know the truth, does it really matter?”

Chloe saw Adrien give Marinette a warm smile and walk away.

Well, that answered her question.

-

That sheltered little boy. Chloe knew why that was bad advice, specifically for Marinette Dupain-Cheng. DC was a goody-two-shoes. It would absolutely kill her to see her friends being manipulated.

But Adrien had been homeschooled for years, and was never taught the ins and outs of social affairs not related to the brand.

So Chloe couldn’t entirely blame him.

But that advice he gave Dupain-Cheng was shit.

-

Chloe and Sabrina put it together that night, and managed to get Miss Bustier’s permission to do a small presentation about a “surprise” the next day. It was all falling into place.

Checkmate, Rossi.

----

Ao3!

[inawickedlittletown]

I’m With You (5/?)

Summary:

Having a crush was nothing to be ashamed of...lying to the family and friends of said crush about being the guy’s boyfriend, that was a whole other problem. When Buck saves the life of Andrew Diaz and accidentally makes a nurse think that he’s Andrew’s boyfriend, Buck soon finds himself lying to Andrew’s firefighter friends/coworkers as well as Andrew’s family including Andrew’s very suspicious and attractive brother, Eddie.

Based on the 1995 movie While You Were Sleeping.

Words: 3, 508

Read on Ao3

Masterpost

Previous Chapter 

--

When he arrived at the hospital with Christopher, Eddie found Buck getting ready to leave. Christopher stopped just in front of Buck, looking up at him. 

“Hi, Buck,” he’d said.

“Oh, hey, kiddo,” Buck said with a grin and then looked away from Christopher and met Eddie’s eyes. “Hey, man.” 

Christopher looked towards the bed, then, and froze and looked back at Eddie with a question in his eyes. Christopher knew that his uncle was in a coma, but it was hard to get a kid to understand exactly what was going on even one as smart as Christopher. 

“Daddy,” he said. 

“Remember we talked about this, Chris,” Eddie said gently. “Your uncle got hurt and now he’s going to be sleeping for a little while.” 

“It’s so he can rest up and get better,” Buck added in. “His body is repairing itself and then when he wakes up, he’ll feel a lot better.”

“Oh,” Christopher said. “So, he can’t see my card?” 

Buck chuckled. “Not right now but when he wakes up I’m sure he’ll be glad to see that you brought it over. We can put it right here on the table so it’s one of the first things he sees. How about that?” 

Christopher nodded eagerly and Buck moved the chair and himself out of the way so that Christopher could prop up the card on the bedside table. Afterwards, his son turned to Andrew and lightly he touched Andrew’s hand before he drew back. 

“Well, I was heading out,” Buck said. “I’m glad he won’t be alone.” 

Eddie nodded.

Buck ruffled Christopher’s hair on his way out and then he was gone. Christopher got bored after a while and asked if he could color. Coloring was Christopher’s favorite pastime so it was easy to just set him up somewhere so he could color while Eddie sat with Andrew. People often said that it was good to talk to coma patients and with Christopher distracted, Eddie just started talking. 

He told Andrew about what he’d missed at work on the day of the accident and then rambled on about how their parents were coming to LA the next day. 

“It’s really annoying. And they’re insisting on staying with me even though your house is empty and they could have the run of the place. Mom says it would be weird because you’re not there. Not to mention they don’t know about Legolas. Or Buck. None of us knew about that.” Eddie paused there to look at his brother. “You know, I don’t get it.” 

Andrew couldn’t answer no matter how much Eddie wanted him to so he could explain himself and explain Buck. 

“I just don’t understand, Andrew. Have you been lying this entire time or did you not know how to tell us? Did you think we would judge? And the dog. You don’t like dogs. Growing up...it always felt like you got your way. You got everything you wanted and Buck is—” Eddie sighed and didn’t finish the thought because if he said it outloud it would be admitting it. It was better to say nothing at all. 

Eddie pulled out his phone for a while, glancing at his texts and catching up with all the memes Chim had decided to send him for no apparent reason. He saw a text from Pepa about his parents and ignored it for later. 

Eddie was looking forward to seeing his mom and dad. He didn’t see enough of them, it was just that things were always a little hard when they were around. Even though he had Andrew and Pepa and Abuela around, his parents always worried about how Eddie was doing as a single father. They wanted him back in Texas. He heard about it every time that they came to visit. Maybe this time they would be more preoccupied with Andrew to bother though. Or they would realize that Eddie was doing just fine with Christopher. 

Christopher poked his arm after a while to show him what he’d been coloring. It was a picture of a blob that was supposed to be Andrew, on a bed. 

“Looks good, kid,” Eddie said. 

One of the nurses came in then. She smiled at him and Eddie. 

“Hello,” she said, “just coming in to check on him.”

Eddie watched her. She didn’t do much but she wrote some things down on his chart and then with a smile and wave she was gone again. 

Eddie pulled Christopher up on his lap after a while. Christopher leaned against him and Eddie just loved his kid so much. He was hit with that all the time, the encompassing love that he felt for his child. It was like nothing else that Eddie had ever felt. One time he’d tried to explain what that was like to Andrew who didn’t really get it or want to understand why Eddie felt the way he did especially with how Christopher had come to be. Eddie could hardly imagine what Andrew might have done in his place. 

When Christopher started to squirm, Eddie let him down again. There was no point in sticking around. He knew Christopher would get bored soon and talking to Andrew was frustrating because ot was like talking to no one at all. Not to mention that he had to get his house clean and fix up the guest room for his parents because if it was one thing that his mom liked to do was criticize and he didn’t want to give her any reason to complain. 

Eddie was going to be one picking them up right after dropping Christopher off at school and considering he had to go into work mid-day, Eddie knew he was looking forward to a long day. 

—-

Buck went by Coffee Time after the hospital in part because he wanted coffee but also because he wanted to talk to someone and he had two options. Ali and Chimney. And since Chimney was mostly a stranger, Buck figured Ali was his best bet. 

Ali was already getting ready to leave when he arrived, but she waited for him to order and get his coffee before she linked their arms together. 

“So, you didn’t tell them,” she said and Buck just sighed. 

“I couldn’t do it,” Buck admitted. “I’m just that much of a coward.” 

Ali laughed and nudged him as they stepped outside. It was a nice day, not too hot but warm enough that it was nice to take a stroll out. Buck couldn’t help but remember earlier that morning when he’d been walking Legolas with Eddie. 

“I wouldn’t say that,” Ali said. “So tell me how that dinner went?” 

“It was nice. They’re loud and friendly and sometimes they bicker and yet they all care about each other,” Buck said. “And, Ali, he has a brother.” 

Ali chuckled softly and under her breath. “And is the brother attractive?”

“The brother is very attractive. And he has a son who is just adorable. He’s — Eddie has been suspicious of me. He pretty much told me he didn’t expect his brother to be with someone like me which—”

“Which is rude,” Ali said, looking at Buck with her eyes wide. 

Buck laughed and shook his head. “No. I mean, he’s right. Andrew is unfortunately very very straight and everyone knows it so the fact that they’re all willing to believe all of this is—” Buck trailed off and he felt Ali touch his arm. “They’re just so wonderful. And I’m lying to them and I don’t know when Andrew will wake up but he will and then I don’t know—”

They stopped when they came to a bench. They weren’t too far from where the incident had happened and Buck almost couldn’t believe that barely any time at all had passed since that day.

“Buck, I really don’t know how to help you here,” Ali said. 

Buck laughed and it was maybe a cry for help too. “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. This is a house of cards and it’s going to collapse and I’ll be the casualty.”

They were silent for a while and Buck sipped at his coffee. A nice wind hit them and Ali sighed. It was the same sigh that she’d given him back at Christmas when he’d dragged her into a Hallmark to pick up a card for Maddie. Buck had no idea if the address he had was even hers anymore, but he’d sent the card anyway even while Ali judged him for bothering. Buck just wanted to be sure that she knew he was still there for whenever she decided it was time to return his call or his Christmas card. 

“So, about this hot brother,” Ali said eventually.

Buck turned to face her entirely. “Ali, he is gorgeous. The genes, Ali. His kid doesn’t look anything like him, though. And he told me today that the mom isn’t in the picture. Didn’t elaborate or anything but he’s probably straight too. Can’t win on all accounts.” 

Ali burst into laughter then. “Buck, only you could end up in a problem such as this one.”

“I know.” 

Buck went to the gym after he and Ali parted ways. He usually went straight to the gym after he got off work and then he skipped working out altogether on his days off but with everything that happened with Andrew, Buck hadn’t stepped foot inside his gym in a few days and he was aching for a workout. 

It was easy to lose himself to lifting weights and to the routine of stretching his muscles and making use of them. By the time that he was done and covered in sweat, his mind felt a bit clearer. He still wasn’t any closer to solving his problems, but he wasn’t expecting to find an easy solution. He was also pretty sure that no matter what he did things wouldn’t end at all well. 

On his way out to his car, he checked his phone. Pepa had texted checking in with him. There were also a few texts from Chimney. 

Hey, liar. 

Just wanted to let you know I won’t out you to them. 

And Eddie doesn’t seem all that suspicious anymore. 

So that’s good.

What did you tell him?

Good luck, liar. 

Buck couldn’t help but smile at the texts. He just hoped that after it was all over he might get to keep Chimney as a friend. 

Thanks. I appreciate it. 

I really...I couldn’t tell them.

It was too hard. 

I think finding me in Andrew’s house with his dog helped me out in respect to Eddie. 

Instead of going straight to his apartment, Buck made the trip over to Andrew’s instead. He figured that even if Legolas could get himself out onto the yard, that it wasn’t fair to leave the dog with no food until he got out of work the next day and stopped by. Buck couldn’t be sure when Eddie was planning on bringing Christopher to meet Legolas, so the least that Buck could do was leave the dog some food out and take him on another walk. 

Legolas actually appeared at the door when he opened it this time and Buck bent down to pet him, leaving the door ajar. Buck hadn’t been petting him long when he heard a knock on the door and looked up. 

It was a guy that looked sort of familiar to Buck but he couldn’t place where he could have met or seen him before. 

“Hello,” Buck said. 

“Hi,” the guy said, frowning at him. “Uh, who are you?” 

“I’m — I’m Buck,” Buck said. “Andrew’s boyfriend.” 

The guy stared at him for a long time. “Andrew’s boyfriend,” he repeated and then laughed. “What? No, that’s not possible.” He was still laughing. 

“Who are you?” Buck asked. 

“I’m Andrew’s best friend,” the guy said. “Josh. So I would have heard about this little development. Although, you are in his house. Where is Andrew anyway?” 

Buck ran a hand down Legolas’ back. Josh was looking at Legolas with some confusion and then back at Buck. 

“He’s in the hospital,” Buck said at last. “It’s why I’m here looking after his dog.” 

Josh gasped and covered his mouth with his hand but in the next moment he was looking at Legolas again. 

“Andrew doesn’t have a dog,” Josh said, then. 

“Look, dude, I don’t know what to tell you but he does have a dog. His name is Legolas and I’m taking him on a walk. Andrew’s in a coma and they said he’ll be fine and wake up soon but that’s the state of things. So not entirely good.” 

“And you’re his boyfriend,” Josh said and he whistled. “Well if he’s going for men now, at least he’s got good taste.” He looked Buck up and down twice. 

“Yes, I’m his boyfriend,” Buck said and he tried not to be flattered by the way that Josh was so obviously checking him out. “And...I should go feed and take Legolas out.” 

Instead of leaving, Josh stepped inside and closed the door behind him and Buck really had no idea what to do with this guy so he ignored him and walked to the kitchen and he heard Josh follow. Somehow, this felt worse than the whole thing with Eddie earlier. 

Buck busied himself pouring out dog food into Legolas’ plate and Legolas waited until Buck was done to start eating. When Buck was done, he finally looked at Josh who had made himself comfortable by jumping up on the counter.  

“Okay, so…” Buck said.

Josh regarded him for a moment. “I just...I want to get this all straight,” he said and then laughed. “No, sorry. I guess it’s not straight, is it?” He laughed again but sobered up quickly enough. 

“Andrew was in an accident. He hit his head and he’s in the hospital. Has been for a few days now,” Buck said. 

Josh nodded thoughtfully. “Okay...so, I get that. I’m just not understanding where you come in. Or, well, that dog.”

Explanations — lies, really, popped into his head. He could keep it all going and tell him what he’d told everyone else except that it was exhausting. Lying was the most exhausting thing in the world and Josh was already seeing through the whole thing. It didn’t seem worth it to lie to Josh, so instead of telling him once more that he was Andrew’s boyfriend he let out a sigh and he braced himself. This was the first step. If he could tell Josh then maybe he would figure out how to tell everyone else. 

“Fine, so I’m not his boyfriend.” 

“Aha!” Josh cried and he jumped off the counter. “I knew it. I have excellent gaydar and Andrew, I am sorry to say, is at most a one on the kinsey scale. And he doesn’t like dogs, so where did he come from?” Josh’s eyes were widened for effect and he glanced at Legolas and then back at Buck and raised an eyebrow. 

“I have no idea where the dog came from,” Buck admitted and it felt good to say it to someone. “I just know that he had a dog collar on him when he hit his head and that the hospital gave me all his stuff. So I came here because I figured there was a dog and there was. His brother was surprised about Legolas too.”

Josh burst out into laughter that didn’t stop for a long moment. Buck was almost regretting telling him. 

“So you got yourself into quite the pickle, then,” Josh said at last. “What are you going to do?” 

“Let it blow up in my face,” Buck said and groaned. “He’ll wake up any day now and I’m going to be this giant joke to them that they laugh about. Pathetic Buck who lied about having a boyfriend and then kept the lie going while their family member was in a freaking coma.” 

Josh reached over to pat Buck’s arm. “Listen, this is not as bad as it seems. The single life...it’s a struggle. Andrew isn’t a bad guy.”

“I’ve been lying about being his boyfriend,” Buck said. “Even the nicest most understanding person would be upset about that.” 

He and Josh hung out for a while longer. Josh had even gone into Andrew’s fridge and brought out a couple of beers and they went outside because it was a nice night out and because Legolas wanted to go outside. 

“So, what made you do it exactly?” Josh asked eventually. 

“His grandmother,” Buck said. “I was talking out loud like an idiot and this nurse just assumed I was his boyfriend. And I wanted to check on him because the whole thing happened really fast and I sorta knew him and I was���”

“You were worried,” Josh said with a shoulder shrug. 

Despite how weird things were that night, Josh was turning out to be a pretty cool and nice guy and Buck liked him. It was strange how he was suddenly finding people to talk to and that Josh had stuck around even after hearing about the mess that Buck had turned his life into. 

“I was worried,” Buck admitted. “I, um, I pulled him out of the way of traffic and just all of it...I wanted to be sure he would be okay. And then Athena showed up and I thought she was there to question me.”

“Athena is—”

“Sergeant Grant,” Buck said. 

Josh nodded and he took a sip of his beer, motioning for Buck to go on. 

“Before I knew it his coworkers were there and then his aunt and his grandmother and I wanted to say something but his grandma didn’t look like she would be able to just handle it and she seemed so happy to hear I was Andrew’s boyfriend so it all just spiralled from there.” 

Josh whistled. Legolas came running at them and Buck laughed when Josh was almost knocked on his back but then he grabbed Legolas by the collar and pulled him back. 

“And here you are in your fake boyfriend’s house with his best friend,” Josh said.

Buck let go of Legolas and then turned to look at Josh directly. “Wait,” he said, “since you’re his best friend, tell me about him. Things I should know so I don’t—”

“Put your foot in it,” Josh finished for him. 

“Sure,” Buck said. 

Legolas brought him the leash so Buck stood up. “Come on, time to take this guy on a walk. Isn’t that right, Legolas?” 

Legolas barked.

Josh followed him out of the yard and it was so reminiscent of his time with Eddie but it was different too. Josh talked about Andrew, mostly things that Buck had already observed about the guy and then when they paused so that Legolas could do this business Josh chuckled. 

“Oh, and Andrew only has one ball sac,” Josh said.

Buck didn’t know what to say for a long while. “How — how do you know that?” 

Josh just shrugged. “You really don’t want to know.” 

Buck’s phone rang right at that moment saving Buck from asking how Josh had that information in the first place. It was an unknown number but he picked it up anyway. 

“Hello?” Buck asked. 

“Hey, Buck. It’s Hen. Just wanted to check up on you and see how you’re doing.”

Buck was a bit floored. “Uh, I’m good. How are you?” 

Hen chuckled. “Chim gave me your number. I just — I figure you’re having a hard time right now with Andrew in the hospital and all and Eddie said earlier that you’re pretty on your own. So I wanted to be sure you’d be okay.” 

Buck couldn’t remember the last time that someone had cared enough to check on him. 

“I — I’m okay.”

“Good. Good,” Hen said. “Well, you have my number now so just call me if you need anything. Even if just to talk, alright?” 

“I...yes, thank you,” Buck said and he was hit with the guilt again. They were just too good and too welcoming and he was a horrible person. “Andrew has really good friends.”

“We’re family,” Hen said. “That’s partly the job...but it’s been easy to care about these Diaz boys.”

Buck smiled to himself. Josh next to him raised his eyebrow. 

“Yeah,” Buck said. 

“Anyway, I’ll let you go, but I hope to see you soon, Buck.” 

“You too,” Buck said. 

And he wanted to scream. He wanted to let himself be upset by how stupid he’d been pushing into this family — these people that were just so nice and welcoming and that didn’t deserve what would happen when the lie came out. It was going to hurt them — genuinely nice people like they seemed to be, they would be hurt by it all. There was just no way around that.

--

Next Chapter

Notes: So yes, Josh has made it onto the fic and he knows. I really wanted someone outside of the 118 to know and maybe even have a different perspective on Andrew. 

Let me know what you all thought. :)

Anyone that wants to be tagged on future chapters just let me know. 

Tagging: @tranquility-or-chaos, @diazbuckleysworld

[thiskulifefall18]

Residence Halls… Two Different Worlds

Prologue

It was the first week of our freshman year of college. New faces, from small towns that we have never heard of up to far away states, filled the campus. It was only normal to feel so lost. Some of us had a roommate we knew prior to college and just our belongings. Finally, we were on our own after all of these years. It was hard knowing what to do. Who should we talk to? Who wants to talk to us? All of these questions remained unanswered, until we walked into our residence halls. “Welcome to Kutztown University! We are happy to have you here,” exclaimed our building directors.

    Right from there on out, everyone was so friendly. We were about to spend two semesters with these people, so why not make the best out of it? It was definitely hard from the start but it became easy to make things work. However, two questions came to all of our minds. Was everyone having a welcoming experience or a horrible one? Were all the halls similar? It was nearly impossible to know everyone's answer to those two questions, but that didn’t stop us from wondering.

Within the next few months, everyone started hearing stories. Whether they were good or bad, they were very interesting due to how different they were. We learned that the residence halls on campus are not comparable. They range from very strict, no tolerance rules to basically a free for all. All of us could name a handful of things that are drastically different in each hall. Living on campus in these buildings is an experience like no other. We will be diving into the good, the bad, and the ugly of these halls. It consists of four acts: Act I, “ Johnson’s Cup is Half Empty,” Act II “ Bonner’s Hoodrat Shenanigans,” Act III “One Big Family,” and Act IV “ Behind the Doors of Berks.”

Act II: Johnson’s cup is half empty

We all have expectations going into things that are unknown to us. I had expectations for my first day of middle school, high school, and even college. None of those Expectations being met. I thought of every college movie I had seen up to that point: Pitch Perfect, American Pie, Monster’s University to name a few. I watched hundreds of Youtube videos about what to Pack, and tips on having a successful year. Those movies and videos could not prepare me enough for what I was about to experience.

It was a pleasant surprise arriving to Kutztown on Move in Day. I had not toured Kutztown, nor was I planning on going to College. I still don’t think that the College life is for me. But here I am. When I arrived I was very anxious for I had not met my roommate yet , did not know what my dorm was going to look like, and I had no idea on where the fuck I was. I had no idea of all of the endless possibilities that laid ahead of me. My Parents and I had drove around for 20 minutes ,  before the people at the Fairgrounds assigned us to move into Johnson. I was looking left and right out the window looking for Johnson Hall, my future home. I had seen photos from Move In Day 2017 online, and it looked super chaotic. That’s when I knew I was where I was supposed to be. The DMZ filled with more cars than a car show, new student t shirts everywhere, and numerous camping sites with various boxes, tv’s, and bed supplies stationed everywhere.

We pulled up to Johnson hall, and it had looked like every other hall on the outside. I thought all of the dorms were the same. I was eager to put everything in my room and have the party start. I checked in and all of the staff seemed overly excited to have us move in. I was Hype, and this was just the beginning. I walk into room 124 and I notice how small it is. I had looked up photos of Johnson Hall online and it did not look half bad. I was semi frustrated because my roommate got there before I did and I could not choose what bed I wanted or what desk space felt right to me. I just went with it. I did not care that much, because I was just excited to get things rolling. My parents helped me move in, and left shortly after we said our goodbyes. Freedom.

Francesca ( my roommate) and I went to South because we were overly hungry. We got to south and met so many different people from all over campus. I swear the first question everyone asks you when they first meet you is “Where do you live?”. We responded with Johnson, and people looked at us with disbelief and started to pity us. The amount of people who said “Oh i'm so sorry that you have to live there” was repetitive and I felt like I already knew people's response who I had just met when we told them we lived at Johnson. Soon we felt awful that we lived there and it was only the first day. We were told how awful the dorm is and how there are so many better halls before we could even sleep there and find out for ourselves. It definitely set negative presumptions for the year.

We quickly unfolded the information that was ingrained in our heads ourselves within a weeks time. To say I did not have fun my first weeks here, I would be lying to you. It was a blast. All of the things wrong with Johnson didn't feel as bad then, because everything else was just so new. I was hardly in Johnson due to how stinking hot it was. It’s when things settled down that I noticed how unacceptable the hall was and still is.

There are lots of things that could be changed to make the hall a better and safer environment. No one respects the hall. The amount of unnecessary chaos that goes on is ridiculous. There are things that happen in every hall, such as loud music playing, the stinge of weed roaming the rooms and halls, and dealing with drunk, obnoxious people. But Johnson Hall is a disgrace to humanity. The amount of destruction to the hall is a bit over the charts.

The boy floors seeming to be the worse. There are numerous videos going around snapchat of the shenanigans that take place. Teenagers creating walls in the ceiling by kicking soccer balls as hard as they can. Longboarders running into walls, or mlb wanna bes throwing baseballs at exit signs as hard as they can in hopes of demolishing it. It’s like one big competition on who can be the biggest idiot. Quite annoying for a student who just wants to study, and get what she needs done… done. There is no respect for the hall. For the hall is already a disgrace and disgusting. It’s already a piece of shit, so that's how people treat it. I semi understand on where these boys thoughts are coming from, but I don’t understand why they are being disrespectful.    

I Interviewed a CA, her name is Maria, she overlooks the first half of the first floor. I asked her what her thoughts are on Johnson Hall, and how her fellow co-workers felt about the chaotic hall. Here’s what she said. I asked her what her Thoughts on Johnson are… here’s what she had to say “Overall this hall is pretty standard, I feel like there are better halls that KU has to offer, that are renovated & not as dirty” “The personality here is awesome though & so much energy” when I asked what her Coworkers Thoughts were , here’s what she said. “My coworkers & I love working here, it’s a pretty easy job. The DR’s are really laid back , and as long as everyone’s acting reasonable , then I’m not worried”. The last question I asked her then was Complaints she hears about Johnson.. this was the most interesting to me & I see first hand where she’s coming from. “Well the amount of complaints that I hear are many. I always hear people complaining about something or another. The bathrooms being dirty is something I hear often, & I get frequent complaints about the smell of weed & how loud everything else. I feel like Johnson is fun overall & we make the most of it” Well, I couldn’t agree with Maria more … We got to make the most of it , or else we’ll get so caught up on how bad it is!  Through living here I have been very angered at numerous situations, but at the end of the day, it is Johnson Hall & it puts me in for a crazy experience every single day.

-Corrina Smith

Act II.  Bonner’s hoodrat Shenanigans

When I was younger, I pictured college to be all about studying, playing beer pong, joining sororities and making best friends for life. I also thought I would be meeting cute boys and all the fun of decorating dorms and much more! In high school, I would watch movies like Legally Blonde and I promised myself my college years will be similar to Elle Woods. I made sure I was prepared for all of the fun activities college was pumping me up for. I had an idea of where I was going and what I was going to do, but as I grew older I realized things don’t always go as planned. For example, I was set on going to Penn State University for Nursing but little did I know, my senior year I applied to Kutztown University as an undeclared major because I truly did not know what I wanted in the future and applying to Kutztown was the best decision I had to make.

That summer, I had to be prepared for my new life at Kutztown. My life was changing and I had to accept this. I went shopped for my dorm, talked to my best-friends, and visited former high school students at parties.

I met up with a girl for coffee named Aly, who is a senior at Kutztown now. She graduated from my hometown about four years ago. We were talking about Kutztown and how there are two freshmen dorms that are absolutely the worst dorms on campus.

“Watch out for Bonner and Johnson! They are the worst dorms on campus that a freshman could have!” Aly laughs at her joke.

“Those are the worst residence halls because they were old and have not be renovated since they made the dorms which was in the 1960’s! My freshman year I dormed in Bonner and it was awful. Although I did meet some pretty great people who I now call my best friends.”

The emails were sent out a few weeks stating everyone’s living situations. I checked where I was going to be living for my freshman year and my cheeks burned as I scrolled through the My KU housing website. I was assigned to room 501 in Bonner Hall! This could not be happening to me. I thought my life was ruined. I wanted a beautiful dorm just like Elle Woods had!

On move in day, my parents and I moved my suitcases, furniture, sheets, etc into the square dorm room. The furniture was movable so I divided my room in half in case I got a roommate. I later on learned that my roommate never showed up! So that was a plus for living in these shity dorm rooms. During the first week of getting used to the college life and being away from home, I made super great friends that live in Bonner as well.

Flash forward to now, my friends and I were talking about how Bonner and Johnson are the worst dorms on campus. A couple of months ago, someone stole the couch on the fifth floor lounge and we have not seen it since. The person who is charge of the building individually  emailed everyone in the dorm saying we will be charged for the stolen couch. Also, just a few weeks ago, some drunk kid and their friends threw a rock from the courtyard and hit the fourth floor window causing it to shatter completely. People on the fourth floor were blackmailed into paying about two grand each until someone confessed.

Since I live on the fifth floor next to all of the pothead boys, it always smelled like pot in the hallways. The CA’s usually call the campus police to escort the people who are breaking the rules of the dorms so on the daily, Bonner sees cops giving out probation forms at least twice a week.

Bonner does have personality. For example, the first week was terrible because everyone in Bonner was so hot because Bonner doesn’t have AC. We had to take at least three times a week because of how gross it felt to stay in the sticky hot dorm rooms. Also, it gets super hot in the dorms in the winter as well, so pray for us freshmen who can never escape the hotness! Bonner also has disgusting bathrooms. The bathrooms are so gross even though they get cleaned everyday except for the weekends. In the showers there are hair sprawled out on the walls, toilets are never flushed, sinks are filled with food, and the trash is overflowing with four loko cans, beer, and dorm room trash.

Although Bonner is one of the worst dorm rooms on campus, I found my best friends and I would not have found them without my terrible living experiences from Bonner hall. So my first year as being a freshman doesn’t suck so bad after all! I have my friends and that’s what makes living in Bonner so great!

-Madison Clause

Act III: One Big Family

    People bring many things with them to college; clothes, bedspreads, personal memorabilia, and if you attend Kutztown University, fans. Lots and lots of fans. But one thing you can not always take with you to college is your friends from back home. Sure, you might get lucky and have a friend or two from home also go to your school, but you might not be that lucky. In this act we are going to talk about making friendships at college, specifically in your hall.

I live in Deatrick hall and I believe Deatrick hall is like one big, yep you guessed it, family. In every family there is different relationships throughout it, just like in your friendships in your hall. For example, everyone has that one family member that you always see at the yearly reunion, but you have no idea what their name is. And guess what, you will have some people like that in your hall. Ya, you see them everyday on the elevator going to your nine a.m.’s,  exchange your little “hey’s”, get off the elevator, and go on with your days. But, you probably do not hangout with them regularly or get food with them. These people in your hall may not be the most important but they are still nice to have, who else would say “hi” to you that early in the morning.

Another type of friend you will probably make will be someone you have a class with. Living in the same hall as someone you have class with is very helpful. Not only can you study together, but you will already know them and will not have to introduce yourself, your professors icebreakers already did that for you. A friend like this will completely understand why you are stressing over a test or ranting about an assignment. It also gives you someone to walk to class with. When it hits winter and you are freezing your butt off, you and your friends conversation could take your mind off it.

Living in a residence hall can also lead you to some of your closest friends in college. The ability to just get on the elevator and go hang out with your friends is really exciting. You will most likely spend hours and hours a day with these people. The memories you make will last with you forever. These friends become your second family.

I can still remember the first week of classes like it was yesterday. Two friends and I had some free time and decided to wander the floors, hoping to make some friends. We hopped from floor to floor, wing to wing. A couple doors on each wing were propped open, welcoming and inviting. We ventured inside of the mysterious rooms and introduced ourselves. And thank goodness we did because I ended up meeting some of my closest friends this way. I met the people I share classes with, walk to class with, eat with, go to sporting events with, and much more. Just by putting myself out there and being friendly I was able to make real connections with the people living in my hall.

Fellow deatrick resident and friend Evelyn said she also had a tip for making friends in your hall. She personally went to our floors lounge the first few days of school and talked to people in there. This idea works very well in the first few months for multiple reasons, one because it is so damn hot in our rooms so everyone is in the lounges just trying to grab some air conditioning. And two, because many people still hang out in the lounges at the end of the semester, there is always someone new sitting in the lounge that you can talk to.

Making friends in your dorm is very important and beneficial. I believe becoming friends with the people you share a building with, can lead to fun and lots of good memories. The people you live with can be some of the best people you will ever meet, but you will never know unless you put yourself out there. My advice is simple, say “hi” to as many people as you can.

Morgan Hartlaub

Act IV: Behind the Doors of Berks

The walls of our halls are one place that residents can find what is going on around campus. From the monthly potty paper in the bathroom all the way to the front desk bulletin boards, it is clear to see the multitude of activities there are to attend. All of the events become a place to meet people with the same interests as you and more. Berks Hall is a place that always stays updated on what there is to do.

Living in Berks hall is a great experience on its own. I have made so many connections with the people I live with. These connections always start with a friendly “hello.” From there, conversations are naturally made. Living in a mostly all freshman residence hall has already given all of us something in common. College is the newest step in all of our lives. Everyone is trying to get comfortable in their new surroundings.

I remember walking down my dorm hallway one morning and stopping by a poster that had “Fall Events” titled at the very top. I skimmed down the detailed list and saw one thing jump out at me. A trip to New York City for only $10! Instantly, I knew I had to go. How could I pass up an amazing opportunity that was so much cheaper than I have ever seen? I just couldn't.

Everything I needed to know about the trip was described at the bottom of the poster. The tickets would need to be bought at the MSU at 11:00. It would be on Saturday the 10th of November and the time the bus left to the time it came back would work so well for me. I immediately told my friends and they were so excited as well. We looked forward to this weekend for almost a month. The day had finally come. My two friends and I had experienced spending the whole day in the city without chaperones for the first time together. It was the most independent I have ever felt.

However, without that poster in the hallway and without the help of the student activity organizations/MSU, none of this would have happened. I wouldn't have known about those awesome opportunities if Kutztown didn’t have all of those things. Living in the halls on campus gives students different resources like these and makes the college experience well worth the money.

Similarly to me, Olivia Brownell had positive experiences living in Berks Hall. She had mentioned to me that one of the first activities she attended at Kutztown was brought to her attention in Berks hall as well. One night when she was coming back from her class, she saw a sticky note on the door. The note read, “Beyonce laser light show tonight. Meet me in the lobby at 6:30 and our hall can all go together. -Gianna”. Gianna is Olivia’s CA. Olivia had told me she gets these sticky notes on the door all of the time, whether it’s an invite to an event or just a reminder of the monthly hall meetings. Olivia took this opportunity and went to the show with her CA.  She mentioned how this event made her closer to people that also went. CA involvement is encouraged in the halls at Kutztown. In Olivia’s case, she says her CA is very helpful and loves to get everyone involved.

Having someone that is familiar with the campus is very beneficial to new students. CA’s giving direct invites gives residents a sense of home that they may not see right away after move in. These types of environments help students succeed and make lifelong friendships. Student involvement creates a community for Kutztown students and having plenty of resources only improves the campus. It is important to make the best out of living in these close communities. Checking the walls of the residence halls can only benefit the students that live there. Who knows? Maybe another trip to somewhere even more interesting will be displayed on the walls of Berks Hall.

                                                                                                   -Gianna Buff